James H. Stapleton

james stapleton
James H. Stapleton, age 67, of New Hampton, IA diedSunday, December 12, 2010of a sudden heart attack at Mercy Medical Center in New Hampton. James Jim Henry Stapleton was born February 8, 1943 to Harold and Lucille (Kobliska) Stapleton in Elma, Iowa. Jim graduated from Elma High School in 1961. He enlisted in the U. S. Navy in 1961 and served as a postal clerk on the USS McMorris off the coast of Vietnam. After his honorable discharge he was united in marriage to Gloria Stiefel on November 18, 1967 at Immaculate Conception Church in Charles City, IA. The couple made their home in New Hampton where they have lived ever since. Jim was a city mail carrier for the New Hampton Post Office for 42 years before retiring in 2006, as well as, farming dairy cattle and hogs. Jim also helped Gene Dorsey and his father as an auctioneer. Since Jim retired he has been a part-time maintenance man for the South Gate and Super 8 motels in New Hampton. Jim enjoyed fixing clocks, being a handy man, traveling and antiquing, football and spending time with his family. Jim is survived by his loving wife, Gloria of New Hampton; his children, Shelby (Katherine) Stapleton of New Hampton, Salina (Bill) Gavin of Waterloo, IA; two sisters, Judith Biwer of Zumbrota, MN, and Joyce (Ron) Swestka of Protivin, IA; and many aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; twin brothers at birth; his son, Shawn; brother-in-law, Lee Stiefel; and sister-in-law, Shirley Flick. Memorials: Memorials may be directed to the family. Service: Graveside services will be held at 11:00 am on Wednesday December 15, 2010 at New Hampton Cemetery in New Hampton with Father Mark Osterhaus presiding.

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  1. So sorry for your loss. Jim was a great man, he will be missed by all. All are in our thoughts and prayers. The Zeien family

  2. So very sorry to learn about Jim’s passing. How lucky I was to have him as a mentor for the letter carrier job! He loved his job and took such pride in delivering the mail each day. So many fun times in the post office will not be forgotten. He loved, collecting his hat pins….but he loved his family the most. Praying for your comfort at this difficult time.

  3. We are so sorry to here of the passing of Jim. Kinsley and Kayme will definately miss him at McDonald’s along with everyone else. Jim was a very nice man and everytime you guys were at McDonald’s our girls would run straight in to show Jim their baby dolls or whatever they had brought with them and he always had a conversation with them. We enjoyed all the suppers sitting with you guys and talking, the girls just figured if you guys were there then that is where we needed to sit. Take care and know we are all thinking of you and your family.

  4. Dear Gloria and Family:

    I was so sorry to hear of Jim’s passing. It seems as if it were only yesterday that you and Jim were dating and Uncle Walter and Rudy were watching out to make sure that the two of you were a good match! As it turned out, Jim was a wonderful husband, father, provider, and soul mate. Jim was one of those individuals who made his mark in a good way on all those who were fortunate enough to know him. May God bless all of you in this difficult time.

  5. Dear Gloria and Family:

    I was so sorry to hear of Jim’s passing. It seems as if it were only yesterday that you and Jim were dating and Uncle Walter and Rudy were watching out to make sure that the two of you were a good match! As it turned out, Jim was a wonderful husband, father, provider, and soul mate. Jim was one of those individuals who made his mark in a good way on all those who were fortunate enough to know him. May God bless all of you in this difficult time.

  6. Dear Stapleton Family,

    Our sincere condolences to all of you. Our thoughts and prayers are with each of you in your grief.

    Sincerely,

    Louise and Donn Harris

  7. Gloria, it won’t be the same seeing you and not Jim, you two were a pair. You must admit that Jim enjoyed everyday he lived. Alway. always had a smile on his face, must have been because of you.
    Thoughts and prayers to each and everyone in your family.
    Love
    Mary Jane Leach (FSA Office)

  8. Gloria, Shelby, and Salina,
    I am so sorry for your loss. Hang in there. If you need anything let me know. I will keep him in my prayers.

  9. Gloria, we were saddened to hear of the loss of Jim. We enjoyed our visits with him and will continue to enjoy our visits with you! How fun it was when we found out both Jim and Kaye were Elma kids! We will miss him. May God wrap his loving arms you and your family Gloria, and provide you with peace and comfort.

  10. I am so sorry for your loss. I don’t even really know what to say. I hope that all of you take care and know that you are in my thoughts. Much love, Sara

  11. I will miss Jim’s teasing whenever I would see him in the Treasure Chest. What a great guy to know! I am so sorry for your loss Gloria. You and your family are in my prayers.
    Godspeed Jim!

  12. Our prayers and thoughts are with you Gloria and your Family.Jim was a great person to know and he will be missed greatly

  13. So sorry to hear of your Fathers passing Shelby, I just saw him at McDonalds Thursday night and I will miss seeing him looking for that great find at the Goodwill store. You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.

  14. Thinking of all of Jim’s family and sending many sympathetic thoughts. Jim will be missed by his many friends. We will miss his friendly smile and caring nature. He was often there to help his friends with their building projects and repair projects. His skills will be missed as well as the good advice he often gave. Heaven must have needed a good handyman but we will miss him.

  15. Dear Gloria and family,

    Please accept our sincere sympathy on the loss of your husband and father. Our bingo games at the McDonalds will just not be the same without Jim! We always enjoyed seeing and visiting with him there.

  16. Dear GLORIA’S Family,
    We are very sad hear this about Jim.
    He was wonderful person he had all something to say any one who walked to him. He liked to joke around with people too and very friendly person and he always yelled Rose I HAVE A BINGO when he walked in the play ground.He was very friend to dad they are both coffee and visiting with eachother again Good bye for nowJim andDad save us a place at the table and Merry Christmas to you both you in my heart always.Love ya, Brenda & Rick.God Bless you &Jim

  17. Dear Salina and Family,
    I was both surprised and saddened to hear about the passing of your dad so unexpectedly. He was a well-known and, as you can see here, a well-liked man. I am smiling as I remember him describing your pet skunk to me in our grade school years. My thoughts are with you.

  18. Don’t think of him as gone away
    his journey’s just begun,
    life holds so many facets
    this earth is only one.

    Just think of him as resting
    from the sorrows and the tears
    in a place of warmth and comfort
    where there are no days and years.

    Think how he must be wishing
    that we could know today
    how nothing but our sadness
    can really pass away.

    And think of him as living
    in the hearts of those he touched…
    for nothing loved is ever lost
    and he was loved so much

    Our prayers are with you and the family.

  19. Gloria , our family is so sorry for your loss. it seems like yesterday i was serving you two coffee at hardee’s and talkling to you having a good time. sorry for your loss again.

  20. Gloria and Family. Please accept our deepest sympathy to you all. Gloria, you and Jim made a perfect whole and now half of that whole is broken..Thank the Lord for all the good years you had. Jim will be greatly missed..especially at the Treasure Chest and McDonald’s.

  21. Gloria, I’m thinking of you at this time and want to extend my sympathy to you. May you feel the closeness of our Lord.

  22. Jim will be missed greatly by many. He was a great postman and a smiling face to many. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

  23. My husband and I would like to convey our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of your beloved James. We would like to share with you something that has brought us much comfort at a similar time in our lives. John 11:14-44 shares with us the experience of Jesus resurrecting Lazarus here on earth before the very eyes of those he loved. We can only imagine the tears of joy when we too are reunited with our dear loved ones. (John 5:28,29) James will surely be missed by many of those who’s lives he shared, remember the experiences you shared together and learn from them, hold them close to your heart and cherish them. May you find comfort from those who surround you at this very difficult time. Our sincere condolences to all of you.

  24. My prayers are with you today, Gloria and family. Jim was such a delight to see in the mornings at McDonalds. I already miss his bright smile and goofiness. Mondays and Wednesday will not be the same at bingo. I could still hear him say Monday morning, “Hey, Rose. Bingo”. I hope you, Gloria, can eventually come back to McDonalds to play bingo with us.

  25. Mydeepest sympathy Gloria, Iam thinking of you and your family. I will miss running into Jim when ever I visit New Hampton.He was a wonderful man.

  26. Shelby & family-
    So sorry to hear of your loss. Your dad was always a great guy to visit with. Take care & God Bless!

  27. We were very surprized to hear of the loss of Jim. I always enjoyed talking to him in the Tom’s Famly Pharmacy whenever he came in there, about family, his clocks and how many pins he had on his hats and he loved talking about how well Shelby liked working at Deers. He will truely be missed in New Hampton, I think he was know by the whole town as a wonderful and very kind and very likeable man. He will be in our prayers and our deepest sympathy to your family during this difficult time.
    The Wilker Family, Roger, Lisa, Cody, Catherine, Dylon and Zachary

  28. Gloria and Family, We are so sorry to hear about Jim. He was always so positive and kind. Please know you and your family are in our prayers to find comfort in all the fond memories he left behind. He will certainly be missed by many. God Bless You. Gregg & Lois Shattuck

  29. Gloria,

    Our deepest sympathies to you and your family. Jim was a great guy. We will all miss him very much. May God bless and comfort you.

  30. Gloria, Shelby and Salina,
    So very sorry to hear of Jim’s passing. I was surprised to learn that he had a heart attack, as I always remember him being so thin and active. Even though I haven’t been out to the farm in so long now, I always remember how Jim made me feel welcome and showed me antiques and his clocks whenever I would come over there with Ray, when we were kids. I know he and dad used to hunt a bit together back in the Elma days. All of you will be in my thoughts and prayers. Please accept my deepest sympathy and condolences on the passing of your husband and father. I know Jim will be watching over the clocks in Heaven, until the time comes when he’ll see you all again. God Bless- Brad Tierney

  31. Gloria, Sorry to hear of Jim’s sudden passing. He was a great person to be around and always put a smile on everyone’s faces and made myself, Kyle an Gary laugh. I remember him telling us vivid jokes that I can’t share on this page, but I will always remember the good times I had with Jim, especially when he would come in from having dinner Tuesday Night with you at Hy-Vee “How was Chinese Jim”? we asked, Jim’s Response: “CHINESE WAS GGGGOOOOOOODDDD” He will be truly missed and thought of everytime we work in the store, we had many laughs, fond memories and awesome from the man they call James H. Stapleton, Our Deepest Sympathies to you and your family at this painful time. -Gary Unger,Tony Stuva, and Kyle H. (Consumers at Treasure Chest)

  32. So sorry to hear of Jim’s passing. He was a a terrific person and made sure that he put a smile on everyone’s face that he met. He will be truly missed. You will never know how much of an impact he made on the consumers at the Treasure Chest. They will always remember him with warm thoughts

  33. Dear Gloria,Shelby, and Salina (our other daughter)- who we got to know so well as our daughter’s best friend. Sara told us of his passing and sent us this link to write to you. We have truly been so saddened to hear of the sudden, and unexpected loss of your Dad and husband. I have met you Gloria, many times over the years,most recently at Salina’s wedding. He struck me as a very friendly, caring and down-to-earth person and a wonderful father. You have our deepest sympathy at this time of mourning. Our thoughts are with you. Linda & Larry

  34. Gloria and Family, we are so sorry for your loss. It seems like we lose the ones we love at unfortunate times, especially around christmas, our thoughts and prayers are with you. God Bless. Kim, Kathy, and William Martin

  35. Gloria and family, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your husband and father. My prayers and thoughts are with you all.

  36. SORRY AND SHOCKED TO LEARN OF JIM’S SUDDEN PASSING. HE DIDN’T SEEM LIKE SOMEONE WHO WOULD HAVE HEART ISSUES. GLORIA, SHELBY AND SALINA WE ARE THINKING OF YOU ESPECIALLY DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME. WE FONDLY REMEMBER HIM AND HIS JOVIAL WAYS. MARILYN AND JOHN DIMARCO

  37. I had just found out this weekend- my deepest and most sincere sympathies go out during this time to the entire Stapleton family. May God help to comfort and lead each and every one of you.

  38. My heart goes out to your family in this time of sorrow. Jim could always make me smile and I will miss him dearly. I have known Jim for more than 35 years as he worked with my mother at the New Hampton Post Office. Never having said an unkind he has been a wonderful friend to our family. May God give you peace and comfort.


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